Roburt

A female on lead but it was before the STANG Moments signed with Stang. Possibility then that she was with the guys in 67 & they were backing her up. However, most members of the group came out of earlier outfits so I doubt that they were involved.

Nina drew much criticism from the press down the years. The song "4 Women" that she wrote & performed really got them going at her ....... .... does it get a mention at all in this book ?

Another car crash victim in 1962 ..........

There must be 9 or more books about the complex Miss Simone. Just about all of them deal with her troubled life and strained relationships (both with partners & record companies), but there is no denying her musical genius. This book joins a 'crowded market' where older attempts to document her life are currently selling for just pence on-line & in 2nd hand book shops. I wish it well but will (for the present) stick with the 2 books on her I already own.

I like "I've Got The Need" (though Chuck's version is better), so I'd have to go with the obvious "69 Times".

Cheetah's was a famous discotheque located in Manhattan, New York. The place opened on May 28, 1966 and closed in the 1970s. The club was located on Broadway @ 53rd St. It is said to have been (at that time) the most elaborate of discotheques; where three thousand colored light bulbs dimmed, flickered and popped into an infinity of patterns all reflecting off shiny aluminum surfaces. Cheetahs held two thousand people and offered not only dancing but a library, a movie room, and colour TV. The musical Hair was first performed at Cheetahs before becoming a major production on Broadway. In addition, the Cheetah Club is widely cited as the birthplace of salsa music (the style of pan-Latin music being created in NY back then). On August 26, 1971, the Fania All-Stars headlined the club and drew an overflowing crowd that was later captured on film as 'Our Latin Thing'. Broadway @ 53rd St is just south of Central Pk and very close to where Charles & Beau Huggins based their Hush & Orpheous Productions set up around 2000 when I visited their premises to chat with the guys. If I'd known the site of Cheetahs was just yards away, I'd have gone looking for the building. Today the Broadway Theatre stands here but so do 2 giant skyscraper office blocks, so perhaps the original building has been demolished. Back in 1967, the live residency at the Cheetah Club was held by Ruth McFadden + Karl Holmes & the Commanders. With the 2pm opening time on Sundays, looks like they were holding soul alldayers there as early as 1967 (just when I attended my first soul alldayer -- King Mojo Club: 16th July 67: Drifters (really Invitations I think) ... those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end... ).

If we start counting bootlegs as well, then I think we are getting onto slippery ground. Surely only official licensed releases should figure.

6 UK versions I think (Coral, MCA SoulBag, MCA, Brunswick, SMP x 2), so I'd guess not as many reissues (here or worldwide) as Bob & Earl. Jackie's "Reet Petite" escaped here at least 4 times (with 2 versions being back in the 50's ! -- Vogue-Coral & then Coral).

But it's still B&E's "Harlem Shuffle" and many an 'ordinary punter' wouldn't notice the difference (though I can, the Jay Boy mix is awful) !!

I'm sure that with a copy of a mint condition version of any 45 as 'the original' to go from, a modern printing plant could reproduce a near identical copy of any old label. Of course, it probably wouldn't be on the exact same kind of paper & certainly wouldn't have any patina (?) so your OVO specialist would probably still be able to tell the difference.

A 1964 piece about Donzella Petty-John, the lead singer (!?!?!) of the Nelodods who cut "Come See About Me" ... (SEE ABOVE) ....... Nella was from Havre De Grace, a very small town which is about half way between Wilmington & Baltimore.

Choker Campbell maintained his old ties back in Ohio, even after he relocated to Detroit & hooked up with Motown. Even when he took gigs up in Idlewild, he found a way to work over in Ohio ... taking the 'Idlewild Review' across to Cleveland ...... I guess the revue headed off to Cleveland the day after it finished the summer season in Idlewild.

Another pitfall of touring back in the day ............ falling ill. If this happened in the south, most hospitals wouldn't treat black artists. Luckily (!?!?!) for Maxine Brown she fell ill in Detroit .........

The Paperboy has been turning heads with his studio & live work for a good number of years now. Both back in his Boston days & even more so since he relocated to NY. He used to get involved with the live soul gigs staged by 60's artists held in Brooklyn .... I'm sure there's many a good tale he can tell about his work with 'soul legends'. He's also a 'really decent kind of chap' & owns a great record collection.

The B&E track was even issued on an Island 45 in Lebanon !!! Just 2 of the B&E cut's Belgium releases (both picture sleeves) ...........

"Harlem Shuffle" by Bob & Earl must figure, as must Fontella Bass's "Rescue Me" .... "Rescue Me" got at least 4 seperate (different) releases with at least 3 of these (Chess 8023, Chess 8090 & Chess 6145009) all being re-promoted & restocked by record shops on a number of occasions. "Harlem Shuffle" was released in at least 7 different incarnations here (Sue, Jay Boy, Island, Contempo, Contempo-Raries, Old Gold, Sue EP). In the above, I'm only counting UK releases. If you add in US, Canadian, European, Lebanese, Caribbean, Indian, Australian, New Zealand, Sth American, Sth African, etc ... then each of these cuts must have 30+ releases on different labels & at different times (60's / 70's / 80's / 90's).

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An Indian Stateside label (EMI) 78rpm from 1964 (sourced from A & M) ...........

Seems that 6 acts + the band were featured the week the Revue played the Harlem Apollo ..........

Don't have it (or even like it) but you're right, the Frank Foster was a St Ahd Rhythm production ........ he must have been about 40 when he cut it ...........

Well most Triode 45 track's weren't connected with St Ahd Rhythm Inc but I know Johnny Honeycutt's "I'm Coming Over" was.

I know lots about the premier black beach resorts on the US east coast -- Carr's & Sparrow's Beaches. These flourished right thru till the late 60's when blacks weren't allowed on 'white beaches'. But with the breakdown of segregation, these beach resorts fell into decline. The big shows by major black artists stopped & the people just stopped coming (I have a whole chapter in my book about the 2 resorts and the acts that played on them). .... HOWEVER .... across in Michigan there was a whole town (Idlewild) that grew up along similar principals. Blacks from the cities (Chicago, Detroit, Toledo, Flint, Grand Rapids, etc.) would head there for the weekend, staying in a local motel (or even buying a house locally). The place was in it's prime in the 40s / 50s / 60s but fell into decline at the same time as Carr's Beach (& for the same reasons). When it was a thriving holiday spot, the entertainment there was top notch. All the top acts of each decade would star there at venues such as Paradise Nightclub, Flamingo Bar, El Morocco & Red Rooster Lounge. Lavern Baker, Little Willie John, Arthur Prysock, Della Reese, the 4 Tops, Jackie Wilson, Lloyd Price, Etta James, B B King, Aretha Franklin, Bill Cosby, George Kirby and more were regulars (the 4 Tops even met their wives there). The resort (located in northwest Michigan) was a mecca for black entertainment. During summer months in the 1950s over 20,000 people would dance at venues in Idlewild. In the 60's Jackie Wilson would sing "Lonely Teardrops", "Baby Workout" &"Whispers". Twist competitions were held on a regular basis, visitors would dance the night away. Lloyd Price worked up in Idlewild for the whole summer one year. He had a full band to support him and in that band were the Funk Brothers; Benny Benjamin, James Jamerson, Earl Van Dyke. They were all working up there in Idlewild for the summer season. I don't know how that fitted in with playing in the studio or backing Motown artists up on live shows. I'm posting a photo below of dancers performing at the Paradise Club and it's impossible to identify the band members who are providing their music. However, on the drummers kit is a big R A logo ... so I'm guessing that the drummer is Richard 'Pistol' Allen However, the Paradise Nightclub burned down in 1970. The 700-seat Flamingo Bar still overlooks Idlewild Lake but stands empty. The Red Rooster lounge and restaurant is still open some days but only after 4 p.m. -- properties lay empty and decaying. The place is a shadow of it's former self. BUT it isn't totally forgotten and a number of web sites exist that detail what went on in this 'Black Eden' back in the day ........... https://www.blackpast.org/aah/idlewild-michigan-1912 https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/cKCj0 https://www.davehoekstra.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/idlewild_mich_black_mecca.pdf https://www.mlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/08/idlewild_the_black_eden_marks.html Anyone know any other soul music linked facts that relate to this place ????

This book on Motown looks like it will make a good read ......... Motown: The Sound of Young America -- Adam White https://www.amazon.co.uk/Motown-Sound-America-Adam-White/dp/0500518297/ref=sr A bit pricey but it looks a quality product. Don't suppose there will be tons of new info in it for committed T/M fans though. Looks to be lots of 'new to me' photos though .........

More on the pitfalls of touring back in the 60's, this bit from Motowner Willie Tyler ........ I guess people still tour like that, but I don't think the venues are as far away now as they were in those days. We would be driving forever. We'd be driving through the Appalachians, driving down the mountains and they'd be icy, icy roads. The driver would have to go very, very slow. We had two drivers and we'd be driving at night. We'd always drive through the night and get to the hotel in the morning. Check in, rest up, shower, go to the venue, come back, check out and then drive again to the next one. It was a grueling schedule. I remember we were working a place called the Carter Barron in Washington DC. It was a big venue and the acoustics were really bad. Sound was bouncing all over the place during the sound-check and I thought, "Wow, this is going to be really difficult for me." I'm the only talking act and it was a Saturday night with the potential for a rowdy audience. So I wondered how I was going to get through it. When we got there... we all felt this... there was something about the place... it was not a good feeling. So, the show started and the leader of the band for the Motortown Revue was Choker Campbell. He was onstage, this large stage. When the show started we all still had this feeling. "There's something strange here." The Contours opened. If the Contours were on a given tour they always opened. Martha and the Vandellas were on second. Martha is singing and then all of a sudden way up in the balcony - four shots went off. And as soon as the four shots went off we knew they were shots. Choker Campbell took one look at the band and stopped them. Didn't look at the audience. He grabbed all his sheet music, the band grabbed theirs and walked off the stage - as did Martha and everyone else. That was it. Show over. When something like that happens - you can't follow that.